This invention concerns snowshoes, particularly a snowshoe binding for retaining a user's shoe or boot (referred to as boot herein). Importantly, the invention provides an improved binding that avoids the need for a strap extending around the back of the user's boot, still providing for secure retention of the boot in the binding.
Snowshoe bindings, and bindings for cleats or other terrain-engaging footgear, are shown in Atlas Snowshoe Co. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,440,827, 5,918,387, 6,374,518, 6,401,310, 6,526,629, 6,694,645 and 6,694,646. U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,646 disclosed a snowshoe harness with buckles and straps configured such that a single pull can tighten the harness down to the boot, and including toe area and arch area straps whose tails were connected together as a loop, such that the user need only pull on the loop. As shown in nearly all the above listed patents, a heel strap is provided to secure the user's boot in the binding, to prevent against pulling back of the boot from the tightened toe and arch areas on the binding during use of the snowshoe or cleat device.
It would be convenient and efficient if such a heel strap could be eliminated from a boot binding for snowshoes, cleats or other footgear, but no previous snowshoe binding has been suggested that would securely grip and hold the boot (which can be in many different sizes, shapes and sole configurations) without a heel strap.